The Mysterious Plain of Megalithic Jars | Ancient Origins 29 November, 2013 - 03:11 aprilholloway The Mysterious Plain of Megalithic Jars (Read the article on one page) The Plain of Jars in the Xieng Khouang plain of Laos is one of the most enigmatic sights on Earth. The unusual site of thousands of megalithic stone jars scattered across nearly one hundred sites deep in the mountains of northern Laos has fascinated archaeologists and scientists ever since their discovery in the 1930s. The unusual site known as the Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age (500 BC to 500 AD) and is made up of at least 3,000 giant stone jars up to 3 metres tall and weighing several tonnes. Most are made of sandstone but there are others made of much harder granite and limestone. Because the jars have lip rims, it is presumed that all of them were originally covered with lids and although a few stone lids have been recorded it is more likely that the main material used was wood or ratan.

The jars appear to have been manufactured with a degree of knowledge of what materials and techniques were suitable. It is assumed that Plain of Jars’ people used iron chisels to manufacture them although no conclusive evidence for this exists. Little is known of the people who carved the huge containers and the jars themselves give little clue as to their origins or purpose. Laos Plain of Jars with Hmong Girls ( Wikimedia Commons ) According to local legend, the jars were created by a race of giants, whose king needed somewhere to store his rice wine. The wine was to be consumed at a great feast to celebrate an illustrious military victory thousands of years ago. Legend tells of an evil king, named Chao Angka, who oppressed his people so terribly that they appealed to a good king to the north, named Khun Jeuam, to liberate them. Khun Jeuam and his army came, and after waging a great battle on the plain, defeated Chao Angka. While some have maintained that the giant jars were used to collect the monsoon rainwater, most archaeologists believe that the jars were used as funerary urns.

Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the stone jars. It is believed that the jars were used to place the corpses of deceased people where they were left to decompose or ‘distill’, a practice that has been common in Thailand and Laos, usually in pits. It is believed that the bodies were left in the jars for the soft tissue to decompose and the body to dry out before being cremated. Once they had been cremated, the ashes would have been returned to the urns, or perhaps buried in a sacred place, freeing the jars for re-use to decompose another body. Archaeologists still don’t have all the answers but unfortunately their work has been slowed down by the fact that the Plain of Jars is one of the most dangerous archaeological sites in the world. Scattered over the plains are literally thousands of tonnes of unexploded bombs, land mines and other unexploded military ordnance, which contaminate more than 35% of the province's total land area and continue to threaten the lives of the 200,000 people who now live in Xieng Khouang.

Visiting the Mysterious Plain of Jars in Laos - A Guide Laos' Mysterious Plain of Jars Visiting the Mysterious Plain of Jars in Laos Plain of Jars in Phonsavan, Laos. Thierry Tronnel/Corbis via Getty Images By Gregory Rodgers Updated September 28, 2016. The Plain of Jars in central Laos is one of Southeast Asia's most mysterious and misunderstood prehistoric places. Around 90 sites scattered across miles of rolling landscape contain thousands of large stone jars, each weighing several tons. Despite the best efforts of archaeologists, the origin and reason for the Plain of Jars remains a mystery. The vibe around the Plain of Jars is eerie and somber, comparable to the same feeling people report at Easter Island or Stonehenge. Standing among the enigmatic jars is a sobering reminder that we as human beings do not have all the answers. Only one enormous jar - located at the site closest to town and most visited by tourists - has a carved relief of a human being with knees bent and arms reaching to the sky. History of the Plain of Jars Only the recent discovery of human remains near the Plain of Jars has allowed the site to be dated.

Archaeologists think the jars were carved with iron tools and date them back to the Iron Age - around 500 B.C. Nothing is really known about the culture that painstakingly carved the stone jars. continue reading below our video Before Your Road Trip, Watch This Theories about the uses of the jars range widely; the leading theory is that the jars once held human remains while local legend claims that the jars were used to ferment lao lao rice wine. (Read about getting drunk in Southeast Asia .) Another theory is that the jars were used to collect rain water during the monsoon season . In 1930, French archaeologist Madeleine Colan conducted research around the Plain of Jars and discovered bones, teeth, pottery shards, and beads. War and politics prevented further excavation around the jars until 1994 when Professor Eiji Nitta was able to conduct more research around the site. Millions of unexploded objects from the Vietnam War remain in the vicinity making excavation a slow and dangerous process. Many of the jars were split or knocked over by concussion waves caused by intense bombing during the war.

Visiting the Plain of Jars in Laos Not surprisingly, the site most frequented by tourists is the one closest to the town of Phonsavan, base for seeing the jars. Known simply as "Site 1", this is the first stop on the plain and a must-see for observing the only decorated jar found so far. Although you will be harassed by guides and touts in Phonsavan selling tours, the only real way to enjoy the Plain of Jars is to do so at your own pace and lost in your own thoughts. Exploring on your own shouldn't be a problem, only a small trickle of tourists tend to make the journey out to see the jars. Once the threat of unexploded objects is minimized, Laos intends to turn the Plain of Jars into a UNESCO World Heritage Site, opening the floodgates to tourism. Note: The stone disks on the ground are often mistaken as the lids to the jars, but this is not the case. It was concluded that the disks are actually burial markers.

Jar Sites at the Plain of Jars Only seven of the 90 jar sites have been declared safe enough for tourists to visit: Site 1, Site 2, Site 3, Site 16, Site 23, Site 25, and Site 52. Site 1 is closest to town and receives the most visitors, but is not the best representation of the Plain of Jars. Site 2 is accessible from Site 1 by motorbike or tuk-tuk and then Site 3 can be reached by an easy hike. Site 52, the largest known site containing 392 jars, is rarely visited and can only be reached by foot. Always stay on the signed paths when walking between jar sites. Warning: The picturesque, serene landscape of the Plain of Jars may seem inviting, but before wandering off to explore first consider that Laos is the most-bombed country in the world; an estimated 30 percent of all the munitions dropped remain unexploded and still deadly. Always stay on marked, well-worn paths when walking between jar sites.

While walking through the site, look out for these artifacts and special attractions: Stone jars broken apart by shock waves caused by carpet bombing in the 1960s. Stone disks on the ground used as burial markers. Shells, fighting positions, destroyed tanks, and other war scrap left behind. "Craters" restaurant and the Mines Advisory Group shop located nearby in Phonsavan. Getting There The small town of Phonsavan is the capital of Xieng Khouang province and is the usual base for visiting the Plain of Jars. By Plane: Lao Airlines has several flights a week from Vientiane to Phonsavan's Xiang Khouang Airport (XKH). By Bus: Daily buses run between Phonsavan and Vang Vieng (eight hours), Luang Prabang (eight hours), and Vientiane (eleven hours). The mystery of the megalithic stone jars in Laos - World Mysteries Blog World Mysteries Blog The mystery of the megalithic stone jars in Laos September 13, 2012 5 Comments The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos.

Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau, Xieng Khouang, Laos, are thousands of megalithic jars. These stone jars appear in clusters, ranging from a single or a few to several hundred jars at lower foothills surrounding the central plain and upland valleys. Several theories propose that the jars were used as funerary urns, while local legend suggests they were drinking vessels for the giants who used to inhabit the area. We’re sure there’s a sensible, perhaps even logical, explanation to the Plain of Jars… we just don’t want to know what it is. The mystery of the stone jars in Eastern Laos Hundreds of large stone jars lie scattered across an elevated plateau of rolling grassland, to the south and west of Phonsavan in Laos. The origin and purpose of these huge, mysterious jars is unclear, but it is generally accepted that most date back at least 2000 years. They range between one and three metres long, and each weigh several tons. Laos legend tells us that the jars were created by a race of giants, whose king needed somewhere to store his rice wine. Others believe that they were placed there to collect monsoon rainwater.

Initial research of the Plain of Jars in the early 1930s claimed that the stone jars are associated with prehistoric burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the stone jars. The Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age (500 BCE to 500 CE) and is one of the most fascinating and important sites for studying Southeast Asian prehistory. The Plain of Jars has the potential to shed light on the relationship between increasingly complex societies and megalithic structures and provide insight into social organization of Iron Age Southeast Asia’s communities. To visit the jar sites one would typically stay in Phonsavan. From the fact that most of the jars have lip rims, it is presumed that all stone jars supported lids, although few stone lids have been recorded; this may suggest that the bulk of lids were fashioned from perishable materials. Stone lids with animal representations have been noticed at few sites such as Ban Phakeo (Site 52). The bas-relief animals are thought to be monkeys, tigers and frogs. No in situ lid has ever been found.

Not to be confused with stone lids are the stone discs. The stone discs have at least one flat side and are grave markers which were placed on the surface to cover or mark a burial pit. These gravemarkers appear more infrequently than stone jars, but are found in close proximity. Similar are stone gravemarkers; these stones are unworked, but have been placed intentionally to mark a grave. The jars lie in clusters on the lower footslopes and mountain ridges of the hills surrounding the central plateau and upland valleys. Several quarry sites have been recorded usually close to the jar sites. Five rock types are known:sandstone, granite, conglomerate, limestone and breccia. The majority of the jars are sandstone and have been manufactured with a degree of knowledge of what materials and techniques were suitable. It is assumed that Plain of Jars’ people used iron chisels to manufacture the jars although no conclusive evidence for this exists. Regional differences in jar shape have been noted.

While these differences in most cases can be attributed to choice and manipulation of rock source, form differences, such as small apertures and apertures on both ends (double holed jars) which would affect the use of the jar have been recorded in one district only. The cave at Site 1 is a natural limestone cave with an opening to the northwest and two man-made holes at the top of the cave. These holes are interpreted as chimneys of the crematorium. French geologist and amateur archaeologist Madeleine Colani excavated inside the cave in the early 1930 and found archaeological material to support a centralized crematorium theory. Colani also recorded and excavated at twelve Plain of Jars sites and published two volumes with her findings in 1935. The material findings and context led her to the interpretation of the Plain of Jars as an Iron Age burial site. Plain of Jars – Site One Hmong Girls climbing on one of the jars at Site 1 Source: Wikipedia Plain of Jars | Journeys International Journeys International Plain of Jars Plain of Jars he Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos.

Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau Xieng Khouang, Lao PDR, are thousands of megalithic jars. These stone jars appear in clusters, ranging from a single or a few to several hundred jars at lower foothills surrounding the central plain and upland valleys. The Xieng Khouang Plateau is located at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera, the principal mountain range of Indochina. Initial research of the Plain of Jars in the early 1930s suggested that the stone jars are associated with prehistoric burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the stone jars. The Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age (500 BCE to 500 CE) and is one of the most fascinating and important sites for studying Southeast Asian prehistory. The Plain of Jars has the potential to shed light on the relationship between increasingly complex societies and megalithic structures and provide insight into social organisation of Iron Age Southeast Asia’s communities. More than 90 sites are known within the province of Xieng Khouang.

Each site ranges from 1 up to 400 stone jars. The jars vary in height and diameter between 1 and 3 metres and are all without exception hewn out of rock. The stone jars are undecorated with the exception of a single jar at Site 1. This jar has a human bas-relief carved on the exterior. Parallels between this ‘frogman’ at Site 1 and the rock painting at Huashan in Guanxi, China have been drawn. The paintings which depict large full-frontal humans with arms raised and knees bent, are dated to 500 BC - 200 AD . From the fact that most of the jars have lip rims, it is presumed that all stone jars supported lids, although few stone lids have been recorded; this may suggest that the bulk of lids have been fashioned from perishable materials. Stone lids with animal representations have been noticed at few sites such as Ban Phakeo (Site 52). The bas-relief animals are thought to be monkeys, tigers and frogs. No in situ lid has ever been found. Not to be confused with stone lids are the stone discs.

The stone discs have at least one flat side and are grave markers which were placed on the surface to cover or mark a burial pit. These gravemarkers appear more infrequently than stone jars, but are found in close proximity. Similar are stone gravemarkers; these stones are unworked, but have been placed intentionally to mark a grave. To the north of Xieng Khouang and extensive network of intentionally placed largely unworked stones marking elaborate burial pits and chambers are known as ‘standing stones of Huaphan’. These following the investigations by Colani were dated to the Bronze Age. Material associated with the stone grave markers in Xieng Khouang however, is similar to the stone jars artefacts. The jars lie in clusters on the lower footslopes and mountain ridges of the hills surrounding the central plateau and upland valleys. Several quarry sites have been recorded usually close to the jar sites. Five rock types are known:sandstone, granite, conglomerate, limestone and breccia. The majority of the jars are sandstone and have been manufactured with a degree of knowledge of what materials and techniques were suitable. It is assumed that Plain of Jars' people used iron chisels to manufacture the jars although no conclusive evidence for this exists.

Regional differences in jar shape have been noted. While these differences in most cases can be attributed to choice and manipulation of rock source, form differences, such as small apertures and apertures on both ends (double holed jars) which would affect the use of the jar have been recorded in one district only. The cave at Site 1 is a natural limestone cave with an opening to the northwest and two man-made holes at the top of the cave. These holes are interpreted as chimneys of the crematorium. The French geologist and amateur archaeologist Madeleine Colani excavated in side the cave in the early 1930 and found archaeological material to support a centralized crematorium theory. Colani also recorded and excavated at 12 Plain of Jar's sites and published two volumes with her findings in 1935. The material findings and context led her to the interpretation of the Plain of Jars as an Iron Age burial site. Inside the jars, she found embedded in black organic soil coloured glass beads, burnt teeth and bone fragments, sometimes from more than one individual. Around the stone jars, she found human bone, pottery fragments, iron and bronze objects, glass and stone beads, ceramic weights and charcoal.

The bone and teeth inside the stone jars show signs of cremation, while the burials surrounding the jars yield unburnt secondary burial bones. No further archaeological research was conducted until November 1994 when Professor Eiji Nitta of the Kagoshima University in collaboration with Lao Archaeologist Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy surveyed and mapped Site 1. Nitta argues that the surrounding burial pits are contemporary to the stone jar as they are cut into the ancient surface on which the jar was placed. Nitta sees the stone jar as a symbolic monument to mark the surrounding burials. He dates the Plain of Jars to the late first – early second millennium B.C. based on the burial urn and associated grave goods. Sayavongkhamdy undertook survey and excavation between 1994 and 1996 supported by the Australian National University. Sayavongkhamdy and Bellwood interpret the stone jars as a central single person's primary or secondary burial surrounded by secondary burials of family members.

Archaeological data collected during UXO clearance operations supervised by UNESCO archaeologist Julie Van Den Bergh at the in 2004-2005 and again in 2007 provided similar archaeological material results. Van Den Bergh recorded similar to Nitta stratigraphical evidence that the stone jars and surrounding burials are contemporary. The differing burial practices of cremation inside and secondary inhumation surrounding the jar, as noted by Colani can not easily be explained, in particular as the cremated remains were identified mainly belonging to adolescents and the associated materials do not appear to differ greatly from the surrounding burials. While the UXO clearance operations did not include emptying of jars and thus no additional evidence could be gathered, Van Den Bergh proposes that the stone jars initially may have been used to distil the dead bodies and that the cremated remains within the stone jars represent the latest phase in Plain of Jars. The stone jars with smaller aperture may reflect the diminishing need to place an entire body inside. The suggestion that stone jars in a similar fashion as traditional Southeast Asian Royal mortuary practices functioned as 'distilling vessels' was put forward by R. Engelhardt and P. Rogers in 2001.

In contemporary funerary practices connected to Thai, Cambodian and Laotian royalty the corpse of the deceased during the early stages of the funeral rites is placed into an urn, while the deceased is undergoing gradual transformation from the earthly to the spiritual world. The ritual decomposition is followed by cremation and secondary burial. The royal burials are located across watercourses from the habitation areas in a geographically high, prominent area. Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that amongst the Black Thai people who have been in the region at least since the 11th century, the elite are cremated releasing their spirit to heaven, while commoners are buried, leaving their spirit to remain on earth. Colani connected the location of the jars sites to ancient trade routes and in particular with the salt trade. He assumed salt was a commodity sought after by the Plain of Jars people, bringing traders to the Xieng Khouang Plateau. The Xieng Khouang area is rich in metallic minerals, mainly due to the granite intrusions and associated hydrothermal activity. Two principal iron ore deposits exist in Lao and both are in Xieng Khouang.

The presence and locations of the numerous jar sites in Xieng Khouang may relate to trading and mining activities. History has also shown that Xieng Khouang at the northern end of the Annamite Range provides relative easy passage from the north and east to the south and west. Within the geographic setting of Xieng Khouang, the jar sites may reflect a network of intercultural villages, whereby the locations of the jars are associated to long-distance overland routes which connect the Mekong basin and the Gulf of Tonkin System. The jar sites show superficial regional differences such as jar form, material and number of jars per site but share common setting characteristics such as burial practices, elevated locations and commanding views over the surrounding area. The most investigated and visited Jar site is located close to the town of Phonsavan, and is known as Site 1. Seven jar sites however, have been cleared of UXO (unexploded bombs) and are open to visitors.

These are currently most visited Site 1, 2 and 3, and Site 16 near the Old Capital Xieng Khouang, Site 23, near the big hot spring in Muang Kham, Site 25 in the largely unvisited Muang Phukoot district and Site 52, the largest known jar site to date with 392 jars near a traditional Hmong village only accessible on foot. The UXO are remnants of Secret War in Laos in the 1960s. The large quantity of UXOs (unexploded ordinances) in the area, especially cluster munitions, limits free movement. At Site 1 evidence of the war can be seen in the form of broken or displaced jars, trench systems and even bomb craters. Lao stories and legends claim there was once a race of giants who inhabited the area. Local legend tells of an ancient king called Khun Cheung, who fought a long, eventually victorious battle against his enemy. He allegedly created the jars to brew and store huge amounts of lao lao rice wine to celebrate his victory.

Another local tradition claims the jars were molded, using natural materials such as clay, sand, sugar, and animal products in a type of stone mix. This led the locals to believe the cave at Site 1 was actually a kiln, and that the huge jars were fired there and are not actually of stone. Another suggested explanation for the jars' use is to collect monsoon rainwater for caravan travellers along their journey at times when rain may have been seasonal and water was not readily available on the easiest foot paths. Rainwater would then be boiled, even if stagnant, to become potable again, a practice long understood in Eastern Eurasia. The trade caravans that camped around these jars and could have placed beads inside them as an offering, accompanying prayers for rain or they might simply have been unassociated lost items. The Laotian government is considering applying for status as a UNESCO World Heritage site for the Plain of Jars. The UNESCO-Lao Safeguarding the Plain of Jars Project has been an ongoing effort by UNESCO and the Lao Government to document and rehabilitate the Plain of Jars. Clearing of the UXO hazards is one requirement before the sites can be studied and developed for tourism.

Community based involvement in the management and conservation of the jar sites has been one of the main objectives of the project and is proving to be success. Tourism pressure on the main visited sites however, is the main cause of recent damage to the stone jars. Information based on Plain of Jars, Laos | Backpacking Asia Travel Guide Priority: Midd Location Type: Destination Attraction Mysterious archaeological megalithic landscape near Phonsavan in the Xieng Khouang plateau with thousands of giant stone jars, the use of which is still subject of speculation. videos below are provided by YouTube under copyright of their owners. Wikipedia - Plain of Jars Hmong Girls climbing on one of the jars at Site 1 The Plain of Jars (Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫິນ tʰōŋ hăy hǐn) is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau Xieng Khouang, Lao PDR are thousands of megalithic jars. These stone jars appear in clusters, ranging from a single or a few to several hundred jars at lower foothills surrounding the central plain and upland valleys.

The Xieng Khouang Plateau is located at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera, the principal mountain range of Indochina. Initial research of the Plain of Jars in the early 1930's suggested that the stone jars are associated with prehistoric burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the stone jars. The Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age (500 BCE to 500 CE) and is one of the most fascinating and important sites for studying Southeast Asian prehistory. The Plain of Jars has the potential to shed light on the relationship between increasingly complex societies and megalithic structures and provide insight into social organisation of Iron Age Southeast Asia’s communities. To visit the jar sites you would typically stay in Phonsavan. provided by Wikipedia are under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License Wikitravel - Plain of Jars The Plain of Jars combines ancient and contemporary history with authentic insights into Phuan, Hmong, Khmu and Tai Dam culture. Nature encounters are easily accessible yet of the beaten track.

Visiting The Plain of Jars is a serene inspiration. The jars with their minimalistic Iron Age aesthetics are an ever-present part of the landscape and the only remaining witnesses to a vanished high culture. Unlike Ancient Greece or the First Emperor of China that date from around the same time, we know very little about the civilization that created The Plain of Jars. There is neither a legend of Troy nor a Book of Songs keeping the memory alive. In more recent history a Secret War took place here. Constant aerial bombardments transformed the landscape - and often jar sites as well- into a Plain of Scars. Regardless, villagers found imaginative ways to rebuild their existence and often made the legacy of the war a resourceful part of their daily life. Bombs became spoons; and a distinct Xiengkhouang style of architecture was created that incorporates bomb shells as building material and décor for houses. The integrity of a culture that did not succumb to hardship but grew with its trials and yet preserved century old village traditions and beliefs is characteristic for The Plain of Jars. The stories you will uncover here are not immediately obvious to the naked eye. You will have to take your time to listen and open your heart to understand.

But then something very rare will happen: You will realize that even today in a world that believes in “total knowledge” there will always remain hidden stories and places that will never be fully understood. provided by Wikitravel under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License Research Center Not Enough information on travelling to Plain of Jars? Want to know more? Dive into endless sources the internet provides. --> The Prehistory of Lao and the Amazing Stone Jars The original inhabitants of the Plain of Jars were Austro-Asiatic peoples, who lived by hunting and gathering before the advent of agriculture. Skilled at river navigation using canoes, traders used routes through the mountains, especially waterways, from earliest times. The most important river route was the Mekong because of its many tributaries, the chief northern tributary being the Nam (River) Ngum which originates in the hills north of the Plain. These water routes allowed traders to penetrate deep into the hinterland, where they bought products such as cardamom, gum, and many foods. Not much is known about these bronze age peoples, but archeological sites such as the stone jars may hold the key to unlocking this chapter of the area's history.

Because sites of funeral urns somewhat similar to those on the Plain of Jars are found in Cachar, Northern India, and in Sa Huynh, Vietnam, (as well as earlier prehistoric chamber graves in nearby Houaphan and Samneua provinces), it has been proposed that prehistoric salt traders had followed a caravan route from Vietnam all the way to India. Such well-traveled caravan routes passing through Xieng Khouang continued to be used until the early part of the 20th century. Salt, available in the Laotian uplands, was probably the impetus for diverting the caravans to pass through the plateau, and it is still an important local resource for making fermented fish paste (pla ra), a dietary staple of the region. Salt may have provided the communities of the Plain of Jars with a stable resource base and the capital to procure exotic imported items such as cowry shells from the east and glass beads from the west. Perhaps, the people who lived along this trade route shared a similar culture, burying their dead (cremated or not, depending upon local custom) in megalithic jars. Yet their origins and ethnicity are unclear, as well as their fate.

What is certain is that the Plain of Jars is one of the most important sites for studying the late prehistory of mainland Southeast Asia, a time when advances in agricultural production, the manufacturing of metals, and the organization of long-distance overland trade were rapidly transforming local society. The Stone Jars The local inhabitants say that the jars were made for brewing alcohol, to be consumed at a great feast to celebrate an illustrious military victory thousands of years ago. Legend tells of an evil king, named Chao Angka, who oppressed his people so terribly that they appealed to a good king to the north, named Khun Jeuam, to liberate them. Khun Jeuam and his army came, and after waging a great battle on the plain, defeated Chao Angka. Perhaps 2,000 years old, the relics are one of the oldest archeological wonders of Southeast Asia.

They have survived looters, the elements, and American bombs, but for decades were largely forgotten in the chaos and conflict that swept Laos In the 1930s, French archeologist Madeline Colani documented the jars in a 600-page monograph, The Megaliths of Upper Laos, She discovered some jars contained bronze and iron tools, and bracelets, along with cowry shells and glass beads, while the rest appeared to have been looted, and concluded that they were funeral urns carved by a vanished Bronze Age people. This theory has been strengthened by the more recent discovery of underground burial chambers. A little more than a mile northeast of Ponsavan lies the principal jar site, called Ban Ang, known as Site 1, containing more than 250 urns. In her words "They are disposed without regularity, some of them pressing one against another, others quite isolated. Each one is fashioned from a separate block of stone, and a small number of them are very well executed, as though turned on a lathe, bespeaking the hand of a true artist." Here, there also is a cave, which she believed served as the crematorium, having found ashes and bones inside it.

A recent excavation in 1994, exposed a carving of a human figure on the side of the jar, the first anthropomorphic image recorded at the site. Nearby, eight to twelve inches below the soil surface, seven flat stones, each covering a pit were also discovered. Six of the pits contained human bones and the seventh contained a two-foot-tall burial jar with small pieces of bone and teeth inside. These pits are proposed to be sites of secondary burials, a practice in which the corpse is left to decompose or 'distill' into it' s essence, a practice that has been common in Thailand and Laos (and other regions) up to the present (to dry out the body and rot the soft tissue before cremation). So the unifying theory is that, the corpses of poor people were placed in pits, while those of the nobility and rich people were placed in the urns to dry out. This would explain their large size. Once they had been cremated in the cave, the ashes of the elite were returned to the urns, or perhaps buried in a sacred place, freeing the jars for re-use to decompose another body.

To date, more than 60 jar fields have been identified, usually situated on promontories and other strategically high places. The tallest jars are more than 3 meters in height and over a meter in width, and weighing several tons. A few have carved symbols which are still visible. Circular stone discs found near the jars, presumed to be lids, are also sometimes carved, with one having a recognizable representation of a monkey. A distinctive figure inscribed on several of the funeral urns, known as the 'frogman', may link the civilisation to cultures as far afield as Yunnan and Indonesia In morbid juxtaposition is the fact that death is also represented by the presence of thousands of tons of unexploded bombs, making the Plain of Jars the most dangerous and contaminated archeological site in the world. Un-detonated bombs, land mines and other unexploded military ordnance still contaminate more than 35% of the province's total land area and continue to threaten the lives of the 200,000 people who now live in Xieng Khouang.

If you plan on visiting the area, keep in mind warnings about straying off the path, as doing so may result in tragedy. In 1998 UNESCO and the Government of Lao PDR initiated a multi-year project to safeguard the archaeological resources of the Plain of Jars. The UNESCO-LAO Project to Safeguard the Plain of Jars is intended to remove the danger of unexploded ordnance, help to rehabilitate the plateau's agricultural land and identify priority areas for protection for archaeological research and tourism development. There are many links on the web to the Jar sites, many of them archived stories from newspapers and magazines. Also there are some good photogalleries from private websites of photographers and travelers. Of course, you should check out our own photo gallery , to see some really good shots of these jars. Check it out - just a click away! To find other sites, just type in 'Plain of Jars' on your search engine. Here, I will only volunteer a few of the more authoritative: The Plain Of Jars, Laos - Travel Happy Travel Happy Hundreds of huge stone urns cover The Plain Of Jars in communist Laos. They remain the most mysterious of Asia’s ancient sights.

The Plain Of Jars, Laos The Plain Of Jars is probably South East Asia’s most enigmatic tourist attraction. Situated in the remote north east of Laos, the mountainous communist country which has only been open to tourists for just over a decade, are hundreds of huge stone jars scattered across several square miles. While most ancient Asian sites, such as the Angkor temples in Cambodia, have revealed many of their secrets, historians are still completely baffled as to where the jars came from, how old they are and what they signify. They are, in short, jars of a deeply spooky nature. The Plain Of Jars, Laos Whatever its ancient history, the Plain Of Jars has had a turbulent recent past. Thanks to its proximity to the North Vietnamese border, this area of Laos became of key significance during the Vietnam War and so was carpet bombed by the Americans. Laos holds the dubious record of being the most bombed country in the world, despite never officially being involved in the Vietnam war at all. The legacy of the war is still being felt, with farmers and their families regularly being killed or injured by the unexploded ordnance which still litters the Plain.

The Jars have been fully cleared of all UXB, but not straying from the designated paths remains imperative. The Plain Of Jars, Laos Flying into Phonsovan, the town nearest the Plain Of Jars, it’s easy to still see the devastation caused by the bombing. Indeed, Phonsovan is Xieng Khouang province’s new capital, the old one having been abandoned because it was so badly damaged. Despite being the base from which virtually all visitors go to see the Jars, Phonsovan still feels like tourism has barely touched it. The town centre itself is one muddy, dusty street, on which there are only a couple of places visitors can eat, although there are a fair few choices for accommodation (see Agoda’s Xieng Khouang page to see current hotel availability). The Plain Of Jars, Laos If you go for breakfast around 7 in the morning, you’ll see the saffron-clothed local monks in procession down the street, collecting their daily alms. Set against the early morning sun coming up over the mountains surrounding Phonsovan, it’s worth the extra effort to get out of bed.

I was the only farang on the half-hour flight from Vientiane to Phonsovan, and the very friendly touts for the local guesthouse who all spoke impeccable English told me it had been very quiet for the last few weeks. Mr Kong at the Kong Keo guesthouse confirmed this was the case – he didn’t have a single other traveller staying and there was barely another tourist in town. I wasn’t particularly phased by this – even though I would have to pay more for my guide and driver to go to see the Plain, getting to see it on my own and at my own pace made it seem like a bargain. I was more phased by the fact that Mr Kong, who you’ll forgive me for imagining to be some huge old man with a distinct simian similarity, turned out to be a lovely, helpful, distinctly un-gorilla-like man about half my age. Wearing a natty hat. Sang, my guide, with a random Laos English language student, at the biggest Jar Half an hour later, Kong’s uncle Sang and I were off on our tour in Kong’s minivan. We stopped off to get “a picnic lunch”, as Sang described it.

Hence I found myself in the middle of the morning market’s chaos, clutching a bamboo tube of sticky rice and surrounded on all sides by dead things. The tiny carcasses of plucked sparrows to the left; a pile of what looked like the Lao equivalent of a ferret to the right. The latter looked cute and fluffy, but they were definitely dead. The Plain Of Jars, Laos Still alive, but probably not for long, was a porcupine in a cage, which I couldn’t stop gawping at. I’m an enthusiastic omnivore and not especially squeamish, but being this close to the source of what winds up on my plate was a little too much for 8 in the morning. Besides acting as a guide for Kong, Sang also teaches English to the local children, and he evidently enjoyed talking to a native speaker to practise his already excellent English. As we headed out into the countryside, we talked about the usual – girls, football and ladyboys. My anecdote about a taxi driver in Vietnam telling me he didn’t like David Beckham any more because he looked like a ladyboy almost had us off the road.

The Plain Of Jars, Laos Eventually, we did go off-road as the tarmac gave out and the dirt track became increasingly churned up. There are three key sites to see the Jars, three places where they are clustered together en masse, but there are apparently over 400 locations where they are to be found scattered across the plain. We were going to do them in reverse order, heading to Site 3 first. By this point we were clearly out in the middle of the farming country, flat fields of wheat stretching out between hills rising from the plain. A short walk over several small rivers and stiles and up a gently rising hill brought me finally face to face with the mysterious Jars I had planned to see for many months. The Plain Of Jars, Laos My Rough Guide warned that most visitors had a sense of anti-climax when they finally saw the Jars; “don’t expect Stonehenge” are its exact words. But this seems a little unfair. The Plain of Jars, like Stonehenge and any other ancient historical site, benefits from reading up a little about it first – the blurb in the guidebook is good enough – so as to get a sense of what you’re about to see.

There isn’t much to see per se at the Plain of Jars, unless you’re prepared to let it trigger your imagination as to what these strange relics might mean. The Plain Of Jars, Laos As such, I was suitably impressed by seeing the Jars. Gathered together at the top of this hill, there were around 130 of them scattered about beneath the trees, mercifully undeveloped by any tourist organisation. Undisturbed amongst the vast wheat yellow and sky blue horizon of the countryside, the jars did indeed seem mysterious, but there was also a sense of serenity too. That probably came from the fact Sang and I were the only people there. The Plain Of Jars, Laos I wandered about for a while, taking photos and comparing the different jars, marvelling at their size – they were all at least a couple of metres long, and must have weighed several tonnes each, some upright, some leaning after being embedded in the ground, some completely toppled over. All of them are virtually black, and their tall, narrow, hefty bodies make them look like crude cannons, pointing in every direction as if fearing attack from all sides.

The darkness of the jars’ stone also makes them seem distinctly funereal and a little sinister. It reminded me of a place I’ve never been: Easter Island. True, the jars certainly aren’t as physically huge or visually impressive as the impassive Maui, but they possess the same air of enigma. Who made them? How did they get here? And what are they for? The Plain Of Jars, Laos No one is even sure where the jars date from. The current accepted theory is that they were created by an iron age megalithic civilisation, about which little is known. This makes the jars one of the most important prehistoric archaeological sites in the world. Even the smallest jars weigh several tonnes and none are made from local stone. So quite how they arrived at the top of this sizable hill is only one of the mysteries historians have grappled with. The biggest mystery of all is quite how the Jars fulfilled for the people who evidently went to a vast amount of effort in creating and placing them. The French archaeologist Madelaine Colani excavated the jars in the 1930s.

She discovered some contained bronze and iron tools and bracelets, along with glass beads, while the rest appeared to have been looted. These items led Colani to theorise that the jars were funerary urns, holding cremated remains. This theory has been strengthened by the more recent discovery of underground burial chambers, none of which appear to be open to the public. The Plain Of Jars, Laos When we got to the second site, a few miles further on down a track even more damaging to the minivan’s suspension than the first, it was another, steeper climb to see the jars perched at the top of two hills, each of which, as Sang pointed out, lined up with the site we had just left, and also lined up with Site One, tracing a straight line between the three sites over several kilometres, even though the first site isn’t visible from the others. The second site is perhaps even more picturesque than the first, with a huge tree dominating the hill and casting its shadow over the jars surrounding it. Here there is a lid for one of the jars, a huge heavy great stone disc, which has what looks like a human figure carved in relief on it.

Having been so used to seeing the jars open, it was quite odd to think that they might have looked completely different with their lids and maybe painted decoration too when they were in use. The Plain Of Jars, Laos The first site is the biggest collection of jars in one place, but also somehow the least atmospheric. This could be because it’s the nearest site to Phonsovan and so gets the most visitors who don’t want to explore further afield – and it could be because the government has made efforts to develop this site as a tourist attraction. So far they’ve only sprung to a stall selling warm Coke and some fairly lacklustre history placards, but it still manages to impinge on the (obviously illusory) sense of discovering the Jars for yourself. However, the first site is also a must-see, in that it contains the biggest jar of all, over 2 metres high and almost as wide. This sits at the top of another small hill, dwarfing its surrounding jars, and looking over a small field below which contains scores more jars. Farmland surrounds the rest of the site, with the wheat virtually growing around the nearest jars to the farm’s border.

Sang took me through the jars to find the only one which has a human figure crudely carved in relief upon it. Nearby sits another jar with its lid in place, giving it a strangely comical air, like it’s wearing a hat. Although not a very natty one. The Plain Of Jars, Laos As I strolled back alone through the field, some Lao tourists with their children neared me. We passed each other besides a large bomb crater, now overgrown with grass. At that moment, the father brandished his son’s toy gun at me and then the crater and shouted “Boom!”. He wasn’t smiling though. Then he started shouting “American, American”. And he still wasn’t smiling. Sang was about 100 yards ahead of me, so I couldn’t rely on him to explain I was aware of the injustices of the war as perpetrated against the Lao people. I weakly muttered “English” and then “Angleterre” and that seemed to placate his wife, if not her husband. I didn’t know if he really was angry, or just trying to explain. I moved on, faintly disturbed.

Fields burning behind the Jars I caught up with Sang at the mouth of a large cave which was down a slope from the plain where we had seen the Jars. He explained that this cave had been used by local people to shelter from the bombing, and many people came to pay their respects to the Buddhist shrine now placed within it to placate the spirits. While we were looking around the cave, the odour of smoke started to drift across from the plain. The farmers had started a stubble burn in the field next to the jars and, even from the bottom of the slope at the cave’s entrance, we could see sheets of fire flickering some 6 feet into the air. Momentarily a monk in his bright saffron robes appeared at the top of the slope, framed all around by the flames before he began his walk down to the cave. As we walked back up to leave, officials were running across from the warm Coke stall to try and find the farmer, as the flames from his field were getting near to the jars themselves.

And I wondered if this was a tiny fragment of what it must have looked like when the bombs fell to make the craters all around, if flames raged all around the jars back then but they remained impervious, just as they had done for thousands of years before. Plain of Jars, Lao's Mystical Prehistoric Landscape - YouTube Plain of Jars, Lao's Mystical Prehistoric Landscape Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Dec 31, 2013 The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau are thousands of megalithic jars. These stone jars appear in clusters, ranging from a single or a few to several hundred jars at lower foothills surrounding the central plain and upland valleys.

Initial research of the Plain of Jars in the early 1930s claimed that the stone jars are associated with prehistoric burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the stone jars. The Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age and is one of the most fascinating and important sites for studying Southeast Asian prehistory. The Plain of Jars has the potential to shed light on the relationship between increasingly complex societies and megalithic structures and provide insight into social organisation of Iron Age Southeast Asia's communities. Lao stories and legends tell of a race of giants who inhabited the area ruled by a king called Khun Cheung, who fought a long, eventually victorious battle against his enemy. He allegedly created the jars to brew and store huge amounts of lau hai ("lau" means "alcohol", "hai" means "jar"—So "lau hai" means rice beer or rice wine in the jars) to celebrate his victory. Another local tradition states the jars were molded, using natural materials such as clay, sand, sugar, and animal products in a type of stone mix.

This led the locals to believe the cave at Site 1 was actually a kiln, and that the huge jars were fired there and are not actually of stone. QUESTIONS? We would like to hear from you! If you have any comments or questions about this destination or just need some general travel advice, feel free to leave a comment below! ABOUT VideoVoyage.TV is a travel channel specializing in informative videos about various travel destinations around the world. We are publishing a short video every day starting with places around Southeast Asia, but planning to extend our coverage to Europe and the Caribbean in the upcoming months. SUBSCRIBE AsiaTrips Travel | The Plain of Jars, Laos The Plain of Jars, Laos The Plain of Jars, Laos 30 Dec 0 Around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of the Xieng Khouang plateau about 8km from Phonsavan lies the Plain of Jars. Sometimes called the ‘Stonehenge of Asia’, mystery surrounds this ancient wonder and very little is known about the civilization that created The Plain of Jars.

There are many myths and stories that circulated about the creation of these Jars but yet there has been nothing concrete which makes it a fascinating place to visit and has baffled archaeologists and scientists ever since its discovery. Plain of Jars, Phonsavan, Laos. These megalithic stone jars located on the plains around Phonsavan, their use is unknown. The Plain of Jars is thousands of giant stone jars that are spread around the Xieng Khouang and each one is different weighing anything up to 13 tons and reach 1 to 3 meters high. It is arguably the most mysterious archaeological site in the country because it has not been determined who built them and why. For this reason there are many myths and stories that shroud the site. The locals believe that a civilisation of giants once ruled these lands, and a giant king commissioned the giant jars to store his lao hai (traditional alcoholic drink in Laos), in celebration of a victory over his enemies. Another myth for the jars use is the collection of monsoon rainwater for caravan travellers along their journey at times when rain may have been seasonal and water was not easily available on their journey.

The trade caravans that camped around these jars could have placed beads inside them as offerings, accompanying prayers for rain. The jars are made of sedimentary rock, like sandstone or granite, and calcified coral and more than 400 sites have been discovered around the Plain of Jars. The most investigated and visited Jar site 1 and has more than 250 jars. It is located close to the town of Phonsavan from where nearly all tours to the Plain of Jars run from. There are currently 7 jar sites have now been cleared of unexploded bombs and are open to visitors. Many thousands over Jars cover the Plains The unexploded bombs are leftovers from between 1964 and 1973 when the Plain of Jars was heavily bombed in the Secret War by the US Air Force. There were more bombs on dropped in Laos, primarily the Plain of Jars, than were dropped during the whole of 2nd World War. This included 262 million anti-personnel cluster bombs. An estimated 80 million of these did not explode and remain a deadly threat to the population. It is by far the most bombed country in history.

For this reason it has made it extremely difficult for the Plain of jars to become a popular tourists attraction and many organisations are working to clear these sites of the unexploded bombs but with but with 250,000 hidden booby-traps still buried, accidents still happen weekly therefore this is the reason why so many sites remain unexplored as more than 30% of the were dropped on the Plain of Jars site. AsiaTrips offers exclusive private tours to The Plain of Jars, for more information visit Laos to speed up Plain of Jars UNESCO application News Laos to speed up Plain of Jars UNESCO application Nov 30, 2015 Laos has released news of a plan to speed up the process of applying for UNESCO World Heritage status for the Plain of Jars. The nation’s Culture Ministry stated that it should be ready to make the final application over the next 12 months or so, but it would take UNESCO another two years to evaluate the merits of it. A senior director with the ministry, Samlan Luang Athai, said the donkey work on putting the nomination together had already been done.

He continued by saying the main challenges left now related to infrastructure improvements and clearing unexploded ordnance remaining from the Vietnam War. The director explained that roads, accommodation and other facilities in the environs of the Plain of Jars needed significant upgrades. He noted that a shortage of funds had delayed this process. There are countless unexploded landmines and cluster bombs in Xieng Khuang Province. Search and destroy operations are ongoing to rid the area of these lethal devices. Historians claim the US dropped more than 250 million cluster bombs in Laos and a fair percentage of these still litter the country’s eastern landscapes. The Plain of Jars has thousands of megalithic stone jars estimated to be up to 3,000 years old. UNESCO has been collaborating with the Lao government since 1998 on preserving the site for posterity and also on removing the unexploded bombs.

Question: In which Asian country is the 'Plain of Jars', the site of thousands of megalithic jars?
Answer: LAOS